''Calucci's Department'' is an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

broadcast by CBS. It premiered on September 14, 1973, and after failing to compete in the ratings against

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

's ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unite ...

'', was canceled after the December 28 episode. It was replaced on January 11, 1974 by the 13-week ''

Dirty Sally ''Dirty Sally'' was a humorous western television series about a hard-drinking cantankerous old woman and a young former outlaw traveling to the California gold fields in a wagon pulled by a mule named Worthless. The series consisted of 14 half-h ...

'', a half-hour

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

starring

Jeanette Nolan Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998) was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series '' The Virginian'' (1962–1971) and ''Dirty Sally'' (1974), and in films such as ''Macbeth'' ...

and

Dack Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series '' The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in t ...

. The series focused on Joe Calucci, the supervisor of a New York City

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

office. His day was spent dealing with a disparate group of claimants, the petty squabbles among the members of his staff (represented by a cross-section of ethnic backgrounds), the frustrations of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

red tape Red tape is an idiom referring to regulations or conformity to formal rules or standards which are claimed to be excessive, rigid or redundant, or to bureaucracy claimed to hinder or prevent action or decision-making. It is usually applied to ...

and his infatuation with his secretary Shirley. Except for its setting, the show was similar to the British hit ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, ...

'', which had premiered in 1972.

Principal cast

James Coco James Emil Coco (March 21, 1930 – February 25, 1987) was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award a ...

as Joe Calucci * Candy Azzara as Shirley Balukis *

Rosetta LeNoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

as Mitzi Gordon *

Peggy Pope Florence Margaret "Peggy" Pope (May 15, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American actress of stage, television and film. Early life Pope was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Her father was a notable doctor in the area. She graduated from Smith Col ...

as Elanie Fusco *Bill Lazarus as Jack Woods *Jack Fletcher as Oscar Cosgrove * Jose Perez as Ramon Gonzalez

Episodes

References

''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Shows 1946 - Present'' by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh,

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remain ...

, pp. 124–125

External links

* {{IMDb title, 69571 1970s American sitcoms 1970s American workplace comedy television series 1973 American television series debuts 1973 American television series endings CBS original programming English-language television shows Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York City